Nara & Osaka 19.07

Luck You Kyoto hommikusöögilaud oli natuke tagasihoidlikum kui Nishtetsu Inn Shinjukus. Lisaks sellele tegi söömise natuke ebamugavamaks see, et sööma oodati ainult üks tuba korraga (vajalik eelmisel õhtul kellaaeg broneerida) ning teenindaja vaatas kõike, mida sa võtsid. Jah ma tean, et ta ei vaadanud, mida või kui palju ma söön (võib-olla vaatas ka), vaid oli iga hetk valmis abistama aga mulle mõjub see natuke häirivalt (ma ei saa süüa, kui keegi vaatab kui palju ma söön). Igatahes. 

Todai-ji

Päeval oli plaanis külastada Narat ja Osakat. Seekord Suica töötas bussis nii nagu ette nähtud ning juba tuttav tee viis meid Kyoto jaama, kus liikusime Nara liiniga (JR) edasi Nara suunas. 

Nara oli Jaapani pealinn 8. sajandil. Tänapäeval on suur rõhk turistidel. 

Nara jaamast liikusime edasi bussiga, mis viis meid tutvuma Todai-ji templiga. Bussijaamast kõige otsesem tänav ei olnud tegelikult peatänav, nagu hiljem selgus ja see oli kokkuvõttes hoopis lahedam lähenemistee. Inimesi ei olnud, nägin lähedalt ja ilma tasuta bambuseid. Lühikese jalutuskäigu pärast jõudsime templikompleksi aiani, kus ootasid ees hirved. 

Lõpuks tuvastasime templi õige sisenemistee ja jõudsime 8. sajandist pärit Todai-ji templi siseaeda. Templis asub maailma suurim pronksist Buddha Vairocana, keda lubati isegi pildistada. Eelnevalt loomulikult vajalikud puhastusrituaalid. Massiivne Buddha asub 18. sajandil rajatud saalis. Saalis on lisaks Buddhale teisigi võimsaid kujusid.

Nautisime templi aeda, pildistasime hirvesid, keda oli võimalik raha eest nuumata. Hirved ei lasknud ennast absoluutselt inimestest häirida ning liikusid kaasa kõigiga, kellel oli süüa pakkuda. Todai-ji aed ongi nimetusega hirvepark.

Jalutasime läbi ka Kofuku-ji templi väljakult aga selle jätsime külastamata. Tagasiteel Nara rongijaama leidsime teelt ühe konveiersushi koha. Sama värviliste taldrikute süsteem, mis eelmises. Seljakoti jaoks toodi mulle alus. Arvet maksma minnes suutsin koti sinna unustada. Kokkuvõttes ei olekski midagi hullu, ainult seelik ja veepudelid aga ikkagi. Olime juba maksmas kui teenindaja meile koti järele tõi.

Olin eelnevalt transpordi marsruudi läbi mõelnud aga Osaka poole sõites avastasin, et lossi külastamiseks ei olegi vaja Osaka jaama välja sõita. Seega tegime ümberistumise ja jõudsime kohale väiksema ringiga.

Osaka on suuruselt kolmas linn Jaapanis, see on põgusalt olnud keisririigi pealinn ja seal elab 2020. rahvaloenduse järgi kaks Eestit😁

Osaka loss näeb välja sarnane Hiroshima lossile. Tee sinna viis üle lossi vallikraavide. Nagu eelnevalt, nägime pargitud ja täiesti lukustamata rattaid. Ei olnud rendikad, lihtsalt rattad. Pärast metroo poole tagasi liikudes olid need rahulikult samal kohal. Läbi puudesalu liikudes kuulsime tsikaadi, kelle lõpuks lähedalt ära nägin.

Osaka loss on sarnaselt Hiroshima omale muuseum. Hoone on väljast viie ja seest ametlikult kaheksakorruseline kuigi reaalselt kuues korrus sellel puudus. Magic. Oleks aru saanud, kui korrus 4, mis on Jaapanis ebaõnne number, puudunud oleks. Ülevalt vaatetornist traditsiooniline vaade ümbruskonnale.

Päeva viimaseks sihtkohaks jäi ajalooline Dotonbori Dori, mis oli algupäraselt teatripiirkond aga tänapäeval värvikirev toidu- ja meelelahutuskeskus. 

Tänav paistis silma lõpmatult lahedate (liikuvate) reklaamide poolest. Umbes viieks minutiks saime uduvihma hoo, mida ema täielikult nautis. Seekord oi mõttekas Osakas õhtust süüa, et Kyotos sentosse minnes natuke kergem oleks. 

Restorani reklaamtoidud (paljudes kohtades olid akendele pandud toitude kujutised) paistsid täiesti normaalsed aga minu pasta oli meh. Minu magustoit. Ütleme nii, et see ei olnud üks paremaid, mida ma saanud olen. Või, noh, see oli päris mitte eriti maitsev. 

Seejärel metroo ja Shinkanseni sõit Kyotosse ja õhtu lõpetuseks sento, kus seekord oli väga armas jaapanlanna. Ta elas meile täielikult kaasa kui me külmavee vanniks ennast kogusime ja siis selle ära tegime (ema tunduvalt kiiremini, kui mina). Ta jutustas palju ja me ei saanud üksteisest midagi aru aga miimikast ja kehakeelest täiesti piisas. Juba esimesel õhtul olime sentosse sisenedes natuke nõutud. Nagu eelnevalt kogetud, ükskõik mis keelt räägitakse, inimesed on äärmiselt abivalmid ja see on tohutult armas. 

Mul on olnud õnn veeta 19. juuli Londonis, Dublinis, Roomas, Clovellys, Lake Districtis, Moheris, Cornwallis, Bledis, Skye saarel, Snowdoni tipus, Capril, Jurmalas, Pariisi Disneylandis, Barcelonas ja nüüd lisandus nimekirja Jaapan, täpsemalt Nara ja Osaka💗

Breakfast at Luck You Kyoto was a tad bit more modest than at Nishtetsu Inn Shinjuku. What's more, eating was slightly uncomfortable because only one room at a time was expected for breakfast (the time slot had to be booked the previous night) and the waiter observed everything you took. Yes, I know that they didn't watch what or how much I ate (perhaps they did), instead, they were ready to help with anything that might occur. Nonetheless, I feel self-conscious when someone watches me eat. Anyway.

The plan for the day was to visit Nara and Osaka. This time, Suica worked as supposed to on the bus, and the already familiar path took us to Kyoto station, where we continued on the Nara line (JR) to Nara. Nara was the capital of Japan in the 8th century. Today, they are mostly directed to tourists. From Nara Station, we took a bus that took us to Todai-ji Temple. As it turned out, we didn't take the main street from the bus station, but it was much more exciting. There were no people, I saw bamboo up close without having to pay for it. After a short walk, we reached the garden of the temple complex, where we saw a bunch of deer.

Buddha Vairocana

Finally, we located the temple's entrance and arrived at the inner garden of the 8th-century Todai-ji Temple. The temple houses the world's largest bronze Buddha Vairocana, unlike most temples, people are allowed to photograph it. Beforehand, naturally, we made the necessary cleansing rituals. The massive Buddha is housed in a hall built in the 18th century. In addition to the Buddha, there are other huge statues in the hall.

We enjoyed the temple's garden and took photos of the deer, which could be fed for money. The deer weren't bothered by people the slightest and followed everyone who carried deer crackers. Todai-ji's Garden is also called Deer Park.
We also walked went to see the Kofuku-ji temple but skipped visiting it. On the way back to Nara train station, we found another conveyor sushi place. The similar system of coloured plates as in the previous one. I was brought a tray for my backpack, which I placed under the table. When I went to pay the bill, I managed to forget my bag under the table. At the end of the day, it wouldn't have been too bad, just my blue skirt and our water bottles. We were already paying when the attendant brought us the bag.

Naturally, I had thought the route through in advance, but when we were riding towards Osaka, I discovered that it is not necessary to ride all the way to Osaka station to visit the castle. Instead, we changed our train to the metro and saved some time.
Osaka is the third largest city in Japan, it was briefly the capital of Japan, and according to the 2020 census, two entire Estonia's populations would fit there😁

Osaka Castle reminds Hiroshima Castle. We had to walk through a park bordered by moats to arrive there. As previously, we noticed parked and unlocked bikes in the park, which could never happen in Estonia, as sad as that is. After moving back towards the metro, the bikes were still in place. Moving through the grove of trees, we heard a cicada, which I finally saw up close.

Like Hiroshima, Osaka Castle is a museum. The building has five storeys on the outside and eight storeys on the inside, although, in reality, it lacked a sixth floor. Mystery. I would have understood if it had lacked floor 4, which is an unlucky number in Japan. As usual, the top offers a view of the surroundings.

The last destination of the day was the historic Dotonbori Dori, which was originally a theatre district but today is a colourful food and entertainment centre. The street is distinguished by its numerous fancy (moving) advertisements. For about five minutes, we got a slight drizzle, which Mum thoroughly enjoyed. This time, it made sense to have dinner in Osaka, to have a bit of time to digest before visiting the Sento in Kyoto.

Many places had replicas of food on the windows. The place we opted for looked completely fine but my pasta was meh. My dessert. Let's just say it wasn't one of the best I've had.

Then the metro and Shinkansen ride to Kyoto to end the evening in our Sento, where this time we met a charming Japanese lady. She explained a lot and wasn't at all bothered that we didn't understand each other, all it took was the body language and facial expressions. She was so encouraging when we gathered ourselves to take a bath in the cold water (and actually managed to, Mum faster than me). We encountered helpfulness from the very beginning, which is so heartwarming.

I have been blessed to spend the 19th of July in London, Dublin, Rome, Clovelly, Lake District, Moher, Cornwall, Bled, Isle of Skye, Snowdon Peak, Capri, Jurmala, Disneyland Paris, Barcelona and now Japan has been added to the list, specifically Nara and Osaka💗

Itsukushima & Hiroshima 18.07

Itsukushima torii

Hiroshima oli reisikavas kohe alguses, Miyajima ehk Itsukushima ("pühamu saar") lisamise mõte tekkis kellegi reisiblogi lugedes ja see tundus proovimist väärt mõte. Otseselt kiirustama ei pidanud (v.a. õhtul rongile jõudes) ja mingil hetkel ei tahtnud kummastki teise kasuks loobuda nii et mõlemad jäid plaani. Jah, kui reis oleks pikem olnud, võiks kummaski päeva veeta aga ma arvan, et põhiline sai nähtud.

Eelmisel õhtul võõrustajaga Suica mittetöötamisest rääkides pakkus ta välja, et peaksime rongijaamas töötajatega suhtlema. Seega enne Kyotost ärasõitu palusin abi klienditeenindajalt, kes hoidis Suicat elektroonilisel alusel ja voila, pidavat nüüd Kyotos ka töökorras olema. 

Rongid ja Shinkansen viisid meid Kyoto → Shin-Osaka → Hiroshima  → Miyajimaguchi. Kõik JR piletiga. Kokku peaaegu 400 km ja ca 2h45min hiljem viis meid praam (samuti JR) Miyajimaguchist edasi Itsukushima ehk Miyajima saarele. 

Itsukushima saare asub mitmeid pühamuid aga neist tuntum on Unesco maailmapärandi osa 

Itsukushima pühamu, kuulus oma vees oleva torii värava pärast, mida ema juba Hakones nägi😁 Hiroshima lahe tõus loob efekti vees "hõljuvast" väravast, kuid mõõna ajal seisab see kindlalt maa peal. Tõusu nägin esimest korda 2014. aastal Iirimaal. Võimas oli jälgida, kuidas meri maa suunas liigub. Teine põnev kogemus oli Cornwallis, St Michael's Mounti külastades. Seekord saarele lähenedes oli torii veega ümbritsetud, lahkudes seisid inimesed selle all.

Itsukushimas praamilt maha tulles tervitasid meid inimestega harjunud hirved😍 Ahistasin neid täiega enne, kui olin valmis edasi liikuma. Tegime terve posu kohustuslikke pilte ikoonilise väravaga (mis Türi Raamatukogule reklaampildiks ei sobinud). Logisime kesk inimmasse aarde. Kellegi tähelepanu mul nagunii ei olnud. Palusime endast pilti teha ning pildistasin teisi.

Itsukushima pühamu rajati 8. sajandil ja see on tohutu. Seisime loomulikult värava pildistamise järjekorras, mille ajal märkasime krabi😍 Ja siis teist. Ja siis mitut veel.

Sain teada, et signaalkrabil (fiddler crab) on üks sõrg suurem kui teine. Lihtsalt nii lahe oli nende liikumist jälgida. Värava taustal saime ka loomulikult pildid tehtud. Vaatlesime nii palju kui lubati pühamu hooneid.

Omotesandō tänavat mööda sadama suunas tagasi liikudes ahistasin veel hirvesid. Külastasime terve portsu suveniiripoode (sest konditsioneer) ning leidsime endale sobiva lõunasöögi koha. Seekord fritüüritud mereelukad, salat ja suur kauss riisi. Aga mida ei ole veel maininud, mu ema sai terve reisi vältel kõik korrad väga edukalt pulkadega söödud😊 Sest noh, kui Eestis pulkade vajadus oleks, siis mõnikord on lihtsam neid mitte kasutada.

Hiroshimas oli plaan ringi liikuda hop-on hop-off turistibussiga (mille kattis JR pilet, st. saime kokkuvõttes terve päeva liikumised JR piletiga kaetud) ja mis viis mugavalt soovitud kohtadesse. Erinevalt tavapärasest, tegi bussijuht bussi sisenedes JR piletist foto. Istusime jahedas bussis ja vaatlesime tänavaid.

Esimeseks peatuseks Hiroshima ehk Carp loss. Nii nagu templid on templitega ja pühamud pühamutega tunduvad ka lossid omavahel sarnased. Hiroshima, rongist nähtud Himeji ja järgmisel päeval külastatud Osaka võiksid sama plaani järgi ehitatud olla. Aga Hiroshima juurde tagasi minnes, see linn koos Nagasakiga pidasid üle elama II MS suurima katastroofi. Algupärane 15. sajandist pärit loss ehitati muuseumina uuesti üles 1958. Ülemiselt korruselt avaneb vaade ümbruskonnale. Lossi aias on näha hoonete varemeid. Kahjuks ei õnnestunud tuvastada kolme tuumapommi plahvatust üle elanud puud, mis pidid lossi aias olema. Millisesse Eesti muuseumi pääseb 2.35 euroga?

Lühike sõit edasi viis meid Rahuparki. Alustasime hop-on-off bussi oranzi liiniga, antud vahe jaoks liikusime kollasele, sest selle graafik oli tihedam.

Juba Hiroshima lossi vaateplatvormilt paistavad suure kupli varemed, milleks oli Hiroshima prefektuuri tööstuse edendamise saal, tänapäeval tuntud kui Aatompommi Kuppel (Atomic Bomb Dome). See oli pommi epitsentrile lähimal paiknev hoone. Praegu Unesco nimistus ning seda hoitakse sihilikult varemetena.

Kupli poolt mälestusparki sisenedes jääb esimesena teele mälestusmärk sõjas ja rünnakus hukkunud lastele. Kuju on inspireeritud hukkunud Sadako Sasakist ja kuna tema voltis sookurgi, siis on neid origami kujukesi pidevalt näha. Kurb oli pargis jalutada. Jah, elu läheb edasi ja linn on uuesti üles ehitatud aga ajalugu ei tohi unustada.

Aeg hakkas õhtusse veerema. Meil oli Shinkanseni istekoha broneering aga ei oleks hullu olnud, kui oleks hilisema rongiga läinud. Kohti ei pea tingimata kinni panema, selleks on olemas broneeringuta vagunid ja suvel ilmselt sellist turistivoogu ei ole, et sõitma ei mahuks. Aga pargis olles märkasin, et kui nüüd kohe stardiks, siis oleks võimalus õigele kiirrongile jõuda. Hop-on-off bussipeatusesse jõudes vaatasin täpsemalt plaani ja nii oranz kui kollane liin ei sobinud aga roheline, millega oleks veel võimalus, oli ajakava järgi juba läinud. Aga mida ma siis nägin, oli lähenev roheline. Seega jõudsime õigeaegselt rongijaama, jõudsime isegi magustoidu kaasa haarata ning asusime tagasiteele.

Õhtusöögiks suss meie majutuse lähedal asuvast pubist (?) Gyogyomaru . Ma ei tea, kuidas neid toidukohti nimetada. Restoranid ega kohvikud need ei ole, pubid otseselt ka mitte. Söögikoht. Igatahes, maitsev sussi assortii. Kuna eelmisel õhtul oli sento (basseinikompleks) avatud kuigi pidi suletud olema, siis sellel õhtul me suplema ei saanud.

Hiroshima was on the itinerary right from the start but the idea of adding Miyajima aka Itsukushima ("shrine island") came from reading someone's travel blog and it seemed doable. We were not in a rush (the only semi-anxious moment appeared in the evening in Hiroshima) and at some point, I didn't want to give up either one in favour of the other, so both stayed on our itinerary. Yes, if we had been in Japan longer, we could have spent a day in both, but I actually think we managed to see the most important sights within the timeframe given. 

Low tide

Talking to our host the night before about Suica not working, she suggested talking to the staff at the train station. So, before leaving Kyoto, I asked customer service for help. He placed the Suica on an electronic tablet and voila, it functioned brilliantly ever since. 

Trains and a Shinkansen took us from Kyoto → Shin-Osaka → Hiroshima → Miyajimaguchi. All covered by our JR ticket. About 400 km and 2 hours and 45 minutes later, the ferry (also covered by JR) took us from Miyajimaguchi to Itsukushima aka Miyajima Island.

There are several shrines in Itsukushima, but the most famous of them is Itsukushima Shrine, part of the Unesco world heritage, famous for its huge torii gate, which my mother already saw in Hakone😁 The high tides of Hiroshima Bay make the gate "float" in the water, but during low tide, it stands firmly on the ground. I saw the tides for the first time in 2014 in Ireland. I was amazed by the sea moving towards the land. The next time was in Cornwall, visiting St Michael's Mount. This time, when approaching the island, the torii was surrounded by water, and when leaving, people were standing right under it.

When we got off the ferry in Itsukushima, we were greeted by a bunch of deer😍 I was completely smitten with them. We took the mandatory pictures of the iconic gate (which was not suitable for Türi Library as a promotional picture). We logged a cache in the midst of a crowd. No one paid me any attention. We asked others to take our photo and returned the favour. 

Itsukushima Shrine was founded in the 8th century and is massive. Naturally, we stood in a queue to take pictures of the gate, while I noticed a crab😍 And then another. And then several more. I found out that fiddler crabs have one claw larger than the other. It was just so cool to watch them move. We took the photos and wandered around the shrine as much as allowed. 

Walking back towards the harbour long Omotesandō Street, I harassed more deer. We hopped into several souvenir shops (because of the air conditioning) and found a suitable place for lunch. This time, deep-fried sea something, a salad and a huge bowl of rice. Just to mention, my mother successfully used chopsticks throughout the trip😊 In Estonia, if we happen to eat out somewhere we could use chopsticks, she tends to avoid them. 

Hiroshima

In Hiroshima, the plan was to move around with a hop-on hop-off bus (which was also covered by the JR ticket, i.e. didn't have to use our Suicas once that day) which conveniently took us to the desired sights. Unlike usual, the bus driver took a photo of the JR ticket when entering the bus. We sat in the cool bus and observed the streets.

The first stop is Hiroshima or Carp Castle. Just as temples and shrines resemble each other, castles also seem similar. Hiroshima, Himeji (seen from the train on the way to Itsukushima) and Osaka (visited the following day) seemed to be built according to the same blueprint. But back to Hiroshima, this city along with Nagasaki had to endure the worst disaster of World War II. The original castle from the 15th century was rebuilt as a museum in 1958. The top floor offers a view of the surrounding area. Ruins of buildings can be seen in the garden of the castle. Unfortunately, we couldn't locate the three nuclear bomb-surviving trees, which are supposed to be in the castle garden. Btw, which Estonian museum can be visited for 2.35 euro? 

A short drive took us to II MS Memorial Park. We began with the orange line but switched to the yellow one. 

The ruins of Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, today known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, can be seen all the way from Hiroshima Castle. This building was the closest to the epicentre of the nuclear bomb. It is currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is intentionally kept as a ruin.

When entering the memorial park from the side of the dome, you come to the Children's Peace Monument, the memorial to the children who died in the bombing and in war. The statue is inspired by the deceased Sadako Sasaki, and since she folded origami cranes, these figures can be seen everywhere. It was heartbreaking to walk in the park. I understand that life goes on and the city has been rebuilt, but history must not be forgotten.

As it was gradually getting late, I began to think about our return to Kyoto. We had seat reservations for the Shinkansen, but it wouldn't have mattered if we had taken a later one. You don't necessarily have to reserve a seat, there are cars without reservations for that, and in the summer there is probably not such a flow of tourists that we wouldn't have found a seat. But while we were in the park, I noticed that if we started then, there would be a chance to catch the intended bullet train. However, when we arrived at the hop-on-off bus stop, I examined the plan more closely and discovered that the orange nor the yellow line would reach the station in time, but according to the schedule, the green line had already gone. To my surprise, I noticed the green bus approaching, luckily a bit late. So we reached the train station on time, even managed to grab dessert and started our way back.

For dinner, another set of sushi from a pub (?) called Gyogyomary near Luck You Kyoto. I don't know what to call these eateries. They are not restaurants or cafes, nor are they pubs. A place to eat. Anyway, delicious assortment of sushi. Because the sento (swimming pool) was open the night before, even though it was supposed to be closed, we couldn't swim that night.